1. Technical Field
This invention relates to muscle dynamometers and more muscle exercising instruments, and, more particularly, to an improved multiple-use apparatus for testing and exercising most human muscle groups.
2. Discussion of the Prior Art
Exercising devices and, similarly, muscle strength testing devices are well known in the prior art. For instance, exercising devices are shown in U.S. Pat. Nos. 1,023,756 (Pons); 4,376,533 (Kolbel); 3,759,514 (Cox); and 4,211,405 (Blowsky et al). These patents disclose various exercising devices utilizing push and pull (compression and tension) operating modes with use limited to exercising upper and/or lower extremities. The patent to Pons shows displacement graduations to provide force or strength indication during exercising. U.S. Pat. No. 3,784,195 (Johnson) discloses a push pull exerciser device having one end attached to a fixed surface and having its other end equipped with a two-hand handle without any provision for measurement of force. U.S. Pat. No. 3,902,480 (Wilson) discloses an electro-mechanical system that relates substantially only to provision of isotonic or isokinetic motion for exercise training.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,408,183 (Wills) discloses an exercise monitoring device for measuring force, for variously timing force application, and for counting the number of repetitions of particular exercises. U.S. Pat. Nos. 4,170,225 (Criglar et al); 4,246,906 (Winberg et al); 4,450,843 (Barney et al); and 4,461,301 (Ochs) show a variety of biofeedback devices, not necessarily intended specifically for use in muscle exercising or testing. Biofeedback systems employable in conjunction with muscle training and testing are disclosed in U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,916,876 (Freeman) and 4,110,918 (James et al). U.S. Pat. No. 4,571,682 (Silverman et al) discloses a system for acquisition, various processing, and display of a variety of physiological measures for use in enhancement of skilled performance or behavior.
As indicated above, the prior art shows a number and variety of small and lightweight relatively specialized testing and exercising devices, each having a particular use in either testing or exercising and being applicable to comparatively few groups of muscles. Some devices provide only tension and some only compression facilities while some provide both; others provide for force measurement, yet others offer only qualitative dynamometric indication, etc. More universally-applicable, lightweight and compact multiple-use devices for testing and exercising of most muscle groups of the human body of interest in training and in evaluation of muscle performance and training progress as well as in medical clinical tasks, adaptable both in their interfacing facilities and in their measurement acquisition, handling, processing, and display and other output capabilities in adequately simple manner to permit use without specialized skill, have neither existed nor been suggested heretofore.